Statement: Pride Month 2015

Green Party of Ontario Deputy Leader, Mark Daye, issued the following statement for Pride Month:

Pride is a unique opportunity to celebrate our success. It’s also a time of reflection and remembrance. A time to remember those who came before us and fought hard for rights and freedoms that we in Ontario benefit from today.

1967, the year I was born, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau said, “there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.”

Two years later, in 1969 homosexuality was decriminalized in Canada. That year the Stonewall Riots took place in New York City, a political action that many consider to be the birth of the modern Pride movement.

Since that June night in 1969 we have seen great progress in the fight for equality in Canada. In 2005, gay marriage became legal. In 2012, Ontario passed Toby’s Act which guarantees the right to be free from discrimination because of gender identity or gender expression.

While Pride is a unique opportunity to celebrate our success, it is also a time of reflection and remembrance. A time to remember those who came before us and fought hard for rights and freedoms that we in Ontario benefit from today.

It’s a time to remember those we have lost to HIV/AIDS and suicide as well as those who are still today being persecuted, abused and murdered in countries around the world.

While we celebrate, we must never forget that the pride movement came about because of ignorance, inequality and persecution.

We’ve made many gains, but to this day in Ontario our tax dollars continue to fund a school system that discriminates against LGBTQ teachers and students.

I hope you will join me as we celebrate Pride across Ontario, and while we do, let’s remember why we celebrate and vow to continue working toward making Ontario an accepting and inclusive place for everyone.